Good news! The new carpet in the second floor unit looks great. Frank and I drove down to the beach house this morning (even though it was snowing) and checked it out.
The living room has a new look. Anthony and his helper, Mike, moved the furniture into the right rooms but it's arranged differently than before. That's because they didn't know where it was supposed to go - none of the furniture was in place when they got there. Paul Bello, our kitchen installer extroardinaire moved everything around when he did the kitchen and painted.
I'm not posting pictures until we give the place a good cleaning and that'll be after we turn the water back on in April so bear with us. The wait will be worth it!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Wow! Wait until you see the new kitchen in the second floor unit of the beach house!
Paul Bello's great installation and my vision (Ha, ha, I'm giving myself a pat on the back!) resulted in something that should give you a lot of pleasure. Picture this: black granite, cherry cabinets, satin nickel faucet and drawer pulls, engineered wood floor, raised ceiling with recessed lighting, and a peninsula/island where the full wall used to be. Oh yeah, an over the range microwave. You'll have to use your imaginiation until I take some pictures and post them.
Paul Bello's great installation and my vision (Ha, ha, I'm giving myself a pat on the back!) resulted in something that should give you a lot of pleasure. Picture this: black granite, cherry cabinets, satin nickel faucet and drawer pulls, engineered wood floor, raised ceiling with recessed lighting, and a peninsula/island where the full wall used to be. Oh yeah, an over the range microwave. You'll have to use your imaginiation until I take some pictures and post them.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Carnival Magic - continued
After being checked in, we boarded the ship on the beautiful atrium lobby deck...
...and took the elevator to Deck 10, Lido for lunch. Lunch was delicious, as usual.
Afterward, we went to our cabin, 7201. A few minutes later, our luggage was delivered so we unpacked.
Next, we headed for the Spotlight Lounge at the rear of the ship for our Cruisecritic Cocktail Party. I paid Annette for our Rome tour and Lori for our Taormina tour. Then I circled the room taking pictures of everyone and meeting the people that I hadn’t already met – Lisa, Kathy, Debby, Lori, Rick, Patti, Becky, Duane and his friends, and many others.
Before we headed off to dinner, we went out on the bow and took pictures. We found CC's, George and Linda, Doug and Lois, and Traci and John out there. Of course, I wasn’t surprised since I already knew that they were in cabins 7202, 7203, and 7204.
I was surprised to see that, although our cabin was in the bow of the ship, we had been assigned to table in the Southern Lights dining room in the stern of the ship. We decided to make the best of it for the first night and eat there but to request a change to the closer dining room. We had no problem changing our table since most people seem to prefer late dining.
After dinner, we went to the Hat Trick Casino, set up our accounts, and lost a small amount of money in the slot machines.
Before bed, I ordered room service for 7 AM the next morning – just fruit, croissants, coffee and juice. We wound up doing this almost every day on this cruise. It took the place of a wake up call and saved us the trip to the dining room or Lido Deck.
October 8, 2011 - Monaco
It seemed strange to be in port on the first full day of a cruise. There was no sea day to ease us into cruise mode. But, since I cruise for the ports, I got right out on the bow after my shower and started taking pictures of Monaco while Frank dressed. Monaco consists of three levels – the marina level, the lower corniche and the upper corniche.
We walked off the ship and out past the port area where we came upon a trolley train. It seemed like a good way to get up to the Palace, Princess Grace’s cathedral, and garden, and it was.
We took pictures in the garden, saw the changing of the guards at the Palace, and went to the Cathedral about ½ hour before it was to open at 1 PM. Sadly, it did not open at one. A tour guide told me that the priests were on strike and then she said, “Just kidding!”. Happily, we met a really nice couple, Durinda and Sammy, from South Carolina and chatted for almost an hour. And then, at two, the cathedral opened. Dorinda and I checked out everything in this gorgeous cathedral while Frank and Sammy continued their conversation. Afterwards, we made our way back on foot using elevators, escalators, and paths along the sea walls.
I don’t remember what we did after we got back onboard but I’m sure that eating was part of it. That night, we went to the Southern Lights dining room and met our new tablemates, Joan and Linda, two retired nurses from Canada. They also changed their table because they were given late dining and wanted early dining. They were great to talk with. After dinner, we made our donation in the Hat Trick Casino and then went back to the cabin.
October 9, 2011 - Livorno
On Sunday, I went to Pisa and Lucca with Joyce – Frank decided to stay on the ship. It was a sunny day with temperatures of about 65 in the morning and 78 in the afternoon. After we met in the atrium lobby at 7:30 AM, we took the Carnival shuttle bus (5 Euro each, roundtrip) to Livorno where we boarded the #1 public bus to the train station. We were prepared to pay but no one asked us for money. At the train station we took the train to the Pisa Centrale station. We just missed the 9:50 AM connection to Lucca and another the next train was at 12:50 so we walked a little less than a mile to the Miracle Square where the Tower is located. It was a pleasant walk across the Arne River and past stores and little cafes. The WC is located past the tower and basilica and it costs .3 Euros to use it. After taking a few pictures and buying some souvenirs, we headed back to the train station. There are three places to buy food there including a McDonalds. We opted for pastries and cappuccinos. My cappuccino was the best I have ever tasted, probably because of the chocolate sprinkles on top.
After finishing, we got onboard the train to Lucca. We met a nice couple from Atlanta who were cruising on the Crystal Serenity on the train. We wanted to take the 2:42 PM train back to Pisa so we didn’t have much time to spend in Lucca. The stores and sights were ¼ to ½ mile away from the station. The scenery was lovely. We passed a bride and groom who were having there wedding pictures taken so I took a few too. We saw the tower and a large church and went into a few shops. We loved the shop with the Venetian masks and bought souvenirs at the family-owned ceramic shop. After that, we realized that we’d have to hustle to get back for the train. We boogied. However, needless to say, we missed it – just by one minute. Since the next train was at 3:42, we crossed the street to a café across from the piazza and had a café American and a delicious nutella-filled doughnut. Life was / is good!
We took the 3:42 PM train to Pisa and switched to the train to Livorno. Then we hurried to the bus stop in front of the station to catch the #1 bus back to Piazza. There were a million other cruisers also waiting for the bus but Joyce and I managed to get on. After we got to Piazza Grande, we walked to the shuttle stop and found several shuttle buses waiting for us so we boarded and got back to the ship right away. It was 5:30 PM. The cut off for boarding was 6:30 so missing the two trains didn’t hurt us.
I was tired from my day of adventure so Frank and I had dinner at the buffet on Lido deck and then went back to our cabin to watch Secretariat.
October 10, 2011 – Civitavecchia
Monday was the day for Tour #1 (Rome). We met Annette and the rest of our group of 29 at 8 AM off the ship. It was about 55 degrees outside. We had to wait our turn for a shuttle bus that took us about ½ mile to the area outside the port where our guide, Giulia, and our Rome-in-Limo bus were waiting.
Giulia was very friendly and very animated. We enjoyed her company. The ride to Rome took almost 1½ hours. Shortly after we got inside the city, we came to the Colosseum. The driver parked the bus and we walked a block or two to the Colosseum. Guilia gave us radios and earplugs but it was a little hard to understand what she was saying. We climbed a lot of stairs to get to the walkway around the Colosseum and took a lot of pictures. Guilia told us that the stone walls were covered with beautiful marble but it had all been stripped away many centuries ago to be used on other projects. Originally, there was metal in the stone walls but that had been removed as well leaving holes in the walls.
After we left the Colosseum, we went to Fontana di Trevi. While we were there, we also entered an Eastern European church. Then we walked to the Pantheon. The inside of the Pantheon was beautiful. It was circular inside. As in most of the churches, there were altars all the way around. When we came out, we went for lunch. We went into the closest restaurant that we could find and I had delicious eggplant parmegian with bruschetta and Frank had minestrone soup. After lunch, we met Giulia in front of the Pantheon. She had a surprise for us – to save us some walking she sent us to the Vatican in a taxi. We waited for her and the rest of the group in the Café Vaticana where we had café American.
The Vatican – It was full of treasures from the Renaissance and earlier eras but it was so crowded, especially in the Sistine Chapel. I’ll let the pictures I took in the Vatican speak for themselves.
We arrived back on the ship around 7:30, grabbed a bite in the Lido Marketplace and headed to bed.
October 11, 2011 – Naples
Tuesday was a day of rest for Frank. He stayed in bed the whole day. After eating the breakfast from room service, I got books from the library, plopped on one of the shaded, circular, Serenity beds and read for much of the morning.
In the afternoon, I walked across the street to the Piazza Municipio and did some window shopping.
After returning, I had dinner in the Lido Marketplace and ordered dinner for Frank from room service.
October 12, 2011 – Messina
On Wednesday, we went on our prearranged trip to Taormina on this day. Lori had organized it and we had 35 people onboard a large, comfortably equipped bus. After leaving Messina, we got on the AutoStrada (super highway) for a few miles. We got off in ? and drove along the sea until we saw signs for Sorveca. Then we drove up, up, up, on narrow streets, making many hair-pin turns. We bought granite and pastry in Sorveca and then we walked further up the mountain to the church where ? married ? in The Godfather.
After leaving Sorveca, we drove to Forto d’Agro. This was also way up in the mountains. We went inside the church there and then I sat with Joyce, Maryann, and her sister at an umbrella table next to a fountain and enjoyed cappaccino.
The next stop was Taormina. It’s one of those towns for the rich and famous that also has a bunch of tourists mixed in. There are plenty of expensive jewelry, clothing, and art shops and lots of restaurant. Joyce and I had lunch at a biergarten for arencini, a traditional Siciliani dish, and stopped for gelato as well. After being there 2 hours, we met our tour guide. She took us to the Roman theatre ruins, and two churches. We had all opted to not pay extra to see the Greek theatre ruins, which is one of the big draws there because we were so tired.
We took the Autostrada back to the ship and boarded around 4:30 and had time for a soak in a hot tub on the Serenity deck.
October 13, 2011 – Sea Day
Thursday was a typical sea day – a little Lido, a little shopping (a Pandora bracelet), and a little slots.
Frank and I dressed for Elegant Night in the dining room. I wore a new black dress, my sheer black jacket and lots of pearls. Frank wore his new sports coat and dress pants.
The highlight of this day was the evening’s entertainment. After having dinner (lobster for me, Prime rib for Frank) with our tablemates, Joan and Linda, and their friend, Elizabeth, we went to the Showcase theatre for the Samantha Jay concert. She was fabulous. She played classical, light classical, and Andrew Lloyd Weber music on the violin, alto sax, oboe, and ? with the Magic stage band backing her up. We sat with Gary and Sandi and enjoyed their company too.
October 14, 2011 – Palma de Mallorca
What a beautiful island! I want to come back her for at least a week – to see the yachts in the marinas, the beautiful hotels and restaurants, “old city” artifacts and buildings, and beautiful beaches.
We took the shuttle bus to Passeig Maritim and walked to the garden outside of the Cathedral. Frank relaxed in the garden while I climbed about 40 steps to the entrance of the Cathedral Museum. The climbing and 4 Euros entrance fee were worth it. It was the most magnificent cathedral that I have ever seen. My pictures don’t do it justice. I’ll just have to make another visit. The cathedral grounds cover a large area and the museum gift shop exit is at the other side from the garden. I found my way back to Frank okay though. We had café American and soda at the Café Mokka across the street from the Cathedral. Then we took the shuttle bus back to the ship.
I went to the Serenity deck and enjoyed the hot tub again until 3:50. Then we went to the Past Guests’ party and met up with Beryl and Bob. Afterwards, we went to Cucina del Capitan. We sat with Becky and Patti, Joyce, Annette, Joy, Maryann, and Maryann’s sister. Our group also included Lori, Rick, Traci, John, Regina, and Bonnie. Frank had delicious short ribs. I yummed up the calamari, tomato and mozzarella, and cannoli but I thought the Chicken Parmegiana was only so-so. A hint for future Carnival Med cruisers: Everyone who ordered the tiramisu raved about it and one of our tablemates said that the apple dessert she ordered was the best she had on the ship.
October 15, 2011 – Marseilles
It’s 10:20 AM on Saturday and we haven’t decided if or when we’ll leave the ship today. The seas were extremely rough last night and Frank didn’t sleep well. I’ve been up since 7:00 AM. After showering, I took pictures, ate breakfast up on Lido, picked up a USA Today newsletter on deck 5, chatted with Susan and Colby and Betty and Dick, returned my library books, and brought coffee to Frank.
Frank decided to stay onboard so, after promising to be back by 3:30 PM, I left him in the cabin and went out to take the shuttle bus to the old town. The shuttle bus ride took about 25-30 minutes and ended on the Quay du Port. I walked on the marina side of the street past many flower vender stalls and then I came upon the Trolley Train. This train takes two routes – old town shopping and Notre Dame de Garre. Luckily, the Notre Dame train was filling up. I bought a ticket and hopped on. The sights along the route were interesting. However, there was a loud group behind me who talked and yelled the whole way to the cathedral. Although the trip to the cathedral was less than optimal, the cathedral and its grounds were wonderful. The whole of Marseilles was laid out before us. It was marvelous for taking panorama shots. And, Notre Dame was worth the climb to the entrance. After immersing myself in this place for awhile and visiting the gift shop, I returned to the parking area and got in a long line of people who were waiting for the trolley train. A trolley train arrives every 10 minutes so the line moves fairly quickly. However, it was annoying to see a couple with 4 grown children cut into the line in front of a Japanese couple who didn’t protest about 10 people in front of me. I was lucky to get a seat on the next trolley but the family of six didn’t fare as well. I heard them protesting that the people behind them just pushed in front of them and took the remaining seats on the trolley. Karma!
I got on the shuttle bus after I got off the trolley and was back on the ship by 2 PM. I knew to look for Frank in the Lido Marketplace when I found an empty cabin. I had a great pork relleno and cheese potatoes for my lunch.
I had a lesser case of pre-partem blues on the last day of this cruise than the other ones – probably because it was such a busy day. I set out my clothes and a few toiletries that I needed for the next morning and packed my suitcase around 4 PM and we headed to the Spotlight Lounge one final time to meet our Cruisecritic friends at the Farewell Party. We expected to be the only ones there but there were many others. Not to fear though; there were plenty of free drinks for all and lots of good company. Almost everybody came. Sandi was missing because she caught Gary’s cold but we got to say goodbye to her later on Promenade. They still had another cruise, a transatlantic one, in front of them on the Ruby Princess leaving from Venice. Libby and Jack were also going on that one. Our new Australian friends, Bob and Beryl, still had four more weeks of vacation left. Annette and Joy were staying overnight in London, and others were staying in Barcelona for a few days. Lucky people! But I can’t complain.
We left the party at 6 PM so we could have one last dinner in the Southern Lights dining room with Joan and Linda. As usual, the food was delicious and my only regret was that I didn’t have an aluminum box to put our prime rib leftovers in so we could bring them back to Kizzy.
After dinner, we returned to our cabin and finished packing. Since we had two stuffed 24” bags, we put them outside our door so we didn’t have to push them off the ship ourselves. Next, we watched the broadcast of the ship’s version of the Newlywed game and then we went to bed.
October 16, 2011 – Home
We got up at 5:30 AM this morning and were ready to leave the cabin at 6. We hugged Joseph goodbye and gave him an additional 13 Euros for his excellent work and because we liked him so much. We were off the ship in no time. This was the easiest disembarkation ever. There was plenty of Carnival staff to direct us to our luggage. We got the bags and pushed them outside the terminal building. We were supposed to meet Robin and Mark for a shared ride to the airport at 7 AM. Since we were early, they weren’t there yet but showed up about 10 minutes later. The taxi ride was fast and uneventful and both of our airlines were in the same terminal at the airport.
...and took the elevator to Deck 10, Lido for lunch. Lunch was delicious, as usual.
Afterward, we went to our cabin, 7201. A few minutes later, our luggage was delivered so we unpacked.
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Next, we headed for the Spotlight Lounge at the rear of the ship for our Cruisecritic Cocktail Party. I paid Annette for our Rome tour and Lori for our Taormina tour. Then I circled the room taking pictures of everyone and meeting the people that I hadn’t already met – Lisa, Kathy, Debby, Lori, Rick, Patti, Becky, Duane and his friends, and many others.
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Before we headed off to dinner, we went out on the bow and took pictures. We found CC's, George and Linda, Doug and Lois, and Traci and John out there. Of course, I wasn’t surprised since I already knew that they were in cabins 7202, 7203, and 7204.
I was surprised to see that, although our cabin was in the bow of the ship, we had been assigned to table in the Southern Lights dining room in the stern of the ship. We decided to make the best of it for the first night and eat there but to request a change to the closer dining room. We had no problem changing our table since most people seem to prefer late dining.
After dinner, we went to the Hat Trick Casino, set up our accounts, and lost a small amount of money in the slot machines.
Before bed, I ordered room service for 7 AM the next morning – just fruit, croissants, coffee and juice. We wound up doing this almost every day on this cruise. It took the place of a wake up call and saved us the trip to the dining room or Lido Deck.
October 8, 2011 - Monaco
It seemed strange to be in port on the first full day of a cruise. There was no sea day to ease us into cruise mode. But, since I cruise for the ports, I got right out on the bow after my shower and started taking pictures of Monaco while Frank dressed. Monaco consists of three levels – the marina level, the lower corniche and the upper corniche.
We walked off the ship and out past the port area where we came upon a trolley train. It seemed like a good way to get up to the Palace, Princess Grace’s cathedral, and garden, and it was.
We took pictures in the garden, saw the changing of the guards at the Palace, and went to the Cathedral about ½ hour before it was to open at 1 PM. Sadly, it did not open at one. A tour guide told me that the priests were on strike and then she said, “Just kidding!”. Happily, we met a really nice couple, Durinda and Sammy, from South Carolina and chatted for almost an hour. And then, at two, the cathedral opened. Dorinda and I checked out everything in this gorgeous cathedral while Frank and Sammy continued their conversation. Afterwards, we made our way back on foot using elevators, escalators, and paths along the sea walls.
I don’t remember what we did after we got back onboard but I’m sure that eating was part of it. That night, we went to the Southern Lights dining room and met our new tablemates, Joan and Linda, two retired nurses from Canada. They also changed their table because they were given late dining and wanted early dining. They were great to talk with. After dinner, we made our donation in the Hat Trick Casino and then went back to the cabin.
October 9, 2011 - Livorno
On Sunday, I went to Pisa and Lucca with Joyce – Frank decided to stay on the ship. It was a sunny day with temperatures of about 65 in the morning and 78 in the afternoon. After we met in the atrium lobby at 7:30 AM, we took the Carnival shuttle bus (5 Euro each, roundtrip) to Livorno where we boarded the #1 public bus to the train station. We were prepared to pay but no one asked us for money. At the train station we took the train to the Pisa Centrale station. We just missed the 9:50 AM connection to Lucca and another the next train was at 12:50 so we walked a little less than a mile to the Miracle Square where the Tower is located. It was a pleasant walk across the Arne River and past stores and little cafes. The WC is located past the tower and basilica and it costs .3 Euros to use it. After taking a few pictures and buying some souvenirs, we headed back to the train station. There are three places to buy food there including a McDonalds. We opted for pastries and cappuccinos. My cappuccino was the best I have ever tasted, probably because of the chocolate sprinkles on top.
After finishing, we got onboard the train to Lucca. We met a nice couple from Atlanta who were cruising on the Crystal Serenity on the train. We wanted to take the 2:42 PM train back to Pisa so we didn’t have much time to spend in Lucca. The stores and sights were ¼ to ½ mile away from the station. The scenery was lovely. We passed a bride and groom who were having there wedding pictures taken so I took a few too. We saw the tower and a large church and went into a few shops. We loved the shop with the Venetian masks and bought souvenirs at the family-owned ceramic shop. After that, we realized that we’d have to hustle to get back for the train. We boogied. However, needless to say, we missed it – just by one minute. Since the next train was at 3:42, we crossed the street to a café across from the piazza and had a café American and a delicious nutella-filled doughnut. Life was / is good!
We took the 3:42 PM train to Pisa and switched to the train to Livorno. Then we hurried to the bus stop in front of the station to catch the #1 bus back to Piazza. There were a million other cruisers also waiting for the bus but Joyce and I managed to get on. After we got to Piazza Grande, we walked to the shuttle stop and found several shuttle buses waiting for us so we boarded and got back to the ship right away. It was 5:30 PM. The cut off for boarding was 6:30 so missing the two trains didn’t hurt us.
I was tired from my day of adventure so Frank and I had dinner at the buffet on Lido deck and then went back to our cabin to watch Secretariat.
October 10, 2011 – Civitavecchia
Monday was the day for Tour #1 (Rome). We met Annette and the rest of our group of 29 at 8 AM off the ship. It was about 55 degrees outside. We had to wait our turn for a shuttle bus that took us about ½ mile to the area outside the port where our guide, Giulia, and our Rome-in-Limo bus were waiting.
Giulia was very friendly and very animated. We enjoyed her company. The ride to Rome took almost 1½ hours. Shortly after we got inside the city, we came to the Colosseum. The driver parked the bus and we walked a block or two to the Colosseum. Guilia gave us radios and earplugs but it was a little hard to understand what she was saying. We climbed a lot of stairs to get to the walkway around the Colosseum and took a lot of pictures. Guilia told us that the stone walls were covered with beautiful marble but it had all been stripped away many centuries ago to be used on other projects. Originally, there was metal in the stone walls but that had been removed as well leaving holes in the walls.
After we left the Colosseum, we went to Fontana di Trevi. While we were there, we also entered an Eastern European church. Then we walked to the Pantheon. The inside of the Pantheon was beautiful. It was circular inside. As in most of the churches, there were altars all the way around. When we came out, we went for lunch. We went into the closest restaurant that we could find and I had delicious eggplant parmegian with bruschetta and Frank had minestrone soup. After lunch, we met Giulia in front of the Pantheon. She had a surprise for us – to save us some walking she sent us to the Vatican in a taxi. We waited for her and the rest of the group in the Café Vaticana where we had café American.
The Vatican – It was full of treasures from the Renaissance and earlier eras but it was so crowded, especially in the Sistine Chapel. I’ll let the pictures I took in the Vatican speak for themselves.
We arrived back on the ship around 7:30, grabbed a bite in the Lido Marketplace and headed to bed.
October 11, 2011 – Naples
Tuesday was a day of rest for Frank. He stayed in bed the whole day. After eating the breakfast from room service, I got books from the library, plopped on one of the shaded, circular, Serenity beds and read for much of the morning.
In the afternoon, I walked across the street to the Piazza Municipio and did some window shopping.
After returning, I had dinner in the Lido Marketplace and ordered dinner for Frank from room service.
October 12, 2011 – Messina
On Wednesday, we went on our prearranged trip to Taormina on this day. Lori had organized it and we had 35 people onboard a large, comfortably equipped bus. After leaving Messina, we got on the AutoStrada (super highway) for a few miles. We got off in ? and drove along the sea until we saw signs for Sorveca. Then we drove up, up, up, on narrow streets, making many hair-pin turns. We bought granite and pastry in Sorveca and then we walked further up the mountain to the church where ? married ? in The Godfather.
After leaving Sorveca, we drove to Forto d’Agro. This was also way up in the mountains. We went inside the church there and then I sat with Joyce, Maryann, and her sister at an umbrella table next to a fountain and enjoyed cappaccino.
The next stop was Taormina. It’s one of those towns for the rich and famous that also has a bunch of tourists mixed in. There are plenty of expensive jewelry, clothing, and art shops and lots of restaurant. Joyce and I had lunch at a biergarten for arencini, a traditional Siciliani dish, and stopped for gelato as well. After being there 2 hours, we met our tour guide. She took us to the Roman theatre ruins, and two churches. We had all opted to not pay extra to see the Greek theatre ruins, which is one of the big draws there because we were so tired.
We took the Autostrada back to the ship and boarded around 4:30 and had time for a soak in a hot tub on the Serenity deck.
October 13, 2011 – Sea Day
Thursday was a typical sea day – a little Lido, a little shopping (a Pandora bracelet), and a little slots.
Frank and I dressed for Elegant Night in the dining room. I wore a new black dress, my sheer black jacket and lots of pearls. Frank wore his new sports coat and dress pants.
The highlight of this day was the evening’s entertainment. After having dinner (lobster for me, Prime rib for Frank) with our tablemates, Joan and Linda, and their friend, Elizabeth, we went to the Showcase theatre for the Samantha Jay concert. She was fabulous. She played classical, light classical, and Andrew Lloyd Weber music on the violin, alto sax, oboe, and ? with the Magic stage band backing her up. We sat with Gary and Sandi and enjoyed their company too.
October 14, 2011 – Palma de Mallorca
What a beautiful island! I want to come back her for at least a week – to see the yachts in the marinas, the beautiful hotels and restaurants, “old city” artifacts and buildings, and beautiful beaches.
We took the shuttle bus to Passeig Maritim and walked to the garden outside of the Cathedral. Frank relaxed in the garden while I climbed about 40 steps to the entrance of the Cathedral Museum. The climbing and 4 Euros entrance fee were worth it. It was the most magnificent cathedral that I have ever seen. My pictures don’t do it justice. I’ll just have to make another visit. The cathedral grounds cover a large area and the museum gift shop exit is at the other side from the garden. I found my way back to Frank okay though. We had café American and soda at the Café Mokka across the street from the Cathedral. Then we took the shuttle bus back to the ship.
I went to the Serenity deck and enjoyed the hot tub again until 3:50. Then we went to the Past Guests’ party and met up with Beryl and Bob. Afterwards, we went to Cucina del Capitan. We sat with Becky and Patti, Joyce, Annette, Joy, Maryann, and Maryann’s sister. Our group also included Lori, Rick, Traci, John, Regina, and Bonnie. Frank had delicious short ribs. I yummed up the calamari, tomato and mozzarella, and cannoli but I thought the Chicken Parmegiana was only so-so. A hint for future Carnival Med cruisers: Everyone who ordered the tiramisu raved about it and one of our tablemates said that the apple dessert she ordered was the best she had on the ship.
October 15, 2011 – Marseilles
It’s 10:20 AM on Saturday and we haven’t decided if or when we’ll leave the ship today. The seas were extremely rough last night and Frank didn’t sleep well. I’ve been up since 7:00 AM. After showering, I took pictures, ate breakfast up on Lido, picked up a USA Today newsletter on deck 5, chatted with Susan and Colby and Betty and Dick, returned my library books, and brought coffee to Frank.
Frank decided to stay onboard so, after promising to be back by 3:30 PM, I left him in the cabin and went out to take the shuttle bus to the old town. The shuttle bus ride took about 25-30 minutes and ended on the Quay du Port. I walked on the marina side of the street past many flower vender stalls and then I came upon the Trolley Train. This train takes two routes – old town shopping and Notre Dame de Garre. Luckily, the Notre Dame train was filling up. I bought a ticket and hopped on. The sights along the route were interesting. However, there was a loud group behind me who talked and yelled the whole way to the cathedral. Although the trip to the cathedral was less than optimal, the cathedral and its grounds were wonderful. The whole of Marseilles was laid out before us. It was marvelous for taking panorama shots. And, Notre Dame was worth the climb to the entrance. After immersing myself in this place for awhile and visiting the gift shop, I returned to the parking area and got in a long line of people who were waiting for the trolley train. A trolley train arrives every 10 minutes so the line moves fairly quickly. However, it was annoying to see a couple with 4 grown children cut into the line in front of a Japanese couple who didn’t protest about 10 people in front of me. I was lucky to get a seat on the next trolley but the family of six didn’t fare as well. I heard them protesting that the people behind them just pushed in front of them and took the remaining seats on the trolley. Karma!
I got on the shuttle bus after I got off the trolley and was back on the ship by 2 PM. I knew to look for Frank in the Lido Marketplace when I found an empty cabin. I had a great pork relleno and cheese potatoes for my lunch.
I had a lesser case of pre-partem blues on the last day of this cruise than the other ones – probably because it was such a busy day. I set out my clothes and a few toiletries that I needed for the next morning and packed my suitcase around 4 PM and we headed to the Spotlight Lounge one final time to meet our Cruisecritic friends at the Farewell Party. We expected to be the only ones there but there were many others. Not to fear though; there were plenty of free drinks for all and lots of good company. Almost everybody came. Sandi was missing because she caught Gary’s cold but we got to say goodbye to her later on Promenade. They still had another cruise, a transatlantic one, in front of them on the Ruby Princess leaving from Venice. Libby and Jack were also going on that one. Our new Australian friends, Bob and Beryl, still had four more weeks of vacation left. Annette and Joy were staying overnight in London, and others were staying in Barcelona for a few days. Lucky people! But I can’t complain.
We left the party at 6 PM so we could have one last dinner in the Southern Lights dining room with Joan and Linda. As usual, the food was delicious and my only regret was that I didn’t have an aluminum box to put our prime rib leftovers in so we could bring them back to Kizzy.
After dinner, we returned to our cabin and finished packing. Since we had two stuffed 24” bags, we put them outside our door so we didn’t have to push them off the ship ourselves. Next, we watched the broadcast of the ship’s version of the Newlywed game and then we went to bed.
October 16, 2011 – Home
We got up at 5:30 AM this morning and were ready to leave the cabin at 6. We hugged Joseph goodbye and gave him an additional 13 Euros for his excellent work and because we liked him so much. We were off the ship in no time. This was the easiest disembarkation ever. There was plenty of Carnival staff to direct us to our luggage. We got the bags and pushed them outside the terminal building. We were supposed to meet Robin and Mark for a shared ride to the airport at 7 AM. Since we were early, they weren’t there yet but showed up about 10 minutes later. The taxi ride was fast and uneventful and both of our airlines were in the same terminal at the airport.
Carnival Magic 2011 Med Cruise Review - Part 1 - Philadelphia to Barcelona
Here are all the little details that made up this wonderful second trip to Europe.
There is a prelude to this cruise. Over seventy people on cruisecritic got to know each other well over the past year and a half. A number of them set up private tours for Rome, Florence, Taormina, Aix-en-Provence, and other places. Some arranged group dinners on and off the ship. And some performed "random acts of kindness" for members of the group.
Half of us stayed in the same hotel and a number of us arranged “do it yourself” tours at several ports. I even got to meet Debbie, Snowball on cruisecritic, at Dave ‘n Buster’s about a month before the cruise. All of the time spent online at cruisecritic ahead of time helped to make this a great cruise.
After dropping off the car at Central Airpark, we went to PHL to get on flight 742 to Barcelona. Debbie and her husband, RJ, were already at the gate. We left at 6:25 PM our time and got to BCN at 8:45 AM, Barcelona time.
October 6, 2011 - Barcelona
We spotted RJ and Debbie in the line for customs clearance and, together, we went off to retrieve the luggage. I think our bags were the last ones on the carousel. As soon as we had them, the four of us jumped into a taxi and took the half hour trip to the Hotel Continental on La Rambla. The taxi to Hotel Continental cost 32.5 Euro.
The hotel was on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a very old five-story building. As soon as we got there, CC's, Kelly and Kelley, from Florida, came over to us and we talked for a short while.
The room rate included coffee, wine, beer, soda, juice and food and, since we needed to wait an hour until the room was ready, we left our luggage in a secured area, filled two small plates with eggs and potatoes and ate while we waited on a patio at the rear of the building. The food and cappuccinos were delicious and we were joined by CC's, Gary and Sandi, on the patio.
The man who helped us with our luggage came about 45 minutes later to tell us that our room was ready. He showed us to our room. To get to our room we went past the lobby to the elevator, up one floor, to the right, through a second automatic door, around a wall, up a hall, and turned right. Our room was on the left. Everything in it was pink – very pink. It was well equipped, clean, and the bed was comfortable.
We left the hotel and strolled down La Rambla to La Boqueria. We checked out the candy, produce, seafood, ham, and cheese stalls and wound up buying some candy and nuts.
After we left the market, we went into a sheet music shop and a church. We finished our afternoon sitting on a bench on La Rambla and people-watched. When we couldn’t get our eyes open any longer, we went back to our room and took a nap.
CC, Joyce, had made reservations at Taller de Tapas, a restaurant that she had visited in January, but thinking that we’d be too tired, we opted not to go. Instead, after our nap we went back to the hotel buffet and filled our plates with chicken and potatoes. We met CC, Libby, at the food station. She told us to join her and the others on the patio. Outside, we met her husband, Jack, and CC, Beverly, and her husband, Bill. It turned out that they are all political liberals. Frank was in heaven. Besides politics, we heard about Jack’s campaign to spread the word about the healing powers of Siaracha, a Chinese hot sauce that takes away aches and pains, and our personal experiences for a long time. During that time, we also met CC, Annette, and her friend, Joy. We all retired when we were thoroughly exhausted but completely satisfied.
October 7, 2011 - Embarkation
The next morning, we awoke, dressed, and, after getting lost in the maze on the second floor of the Hotel Continental, we found our way to the lobby where we paid for the room, had, you guessed it, some more delicious potatoes, and left to meet up with CC, Theresa, and her husband, Mark, who had ordered the bus that was to take us to the ship. Although the hotel elevator got us from the second floor to the lobby, it wouldn’t take us to the street level. Frank had to carry his 40 lb. bag down two flights. At my suitcase.
After paying Mark for our bus rides, we pushed our bags around the corner to the Hard Rock Café and waited for the big, silver bus across from Placa Catalunya.
Loading and unloading was smooth. However, I was surprised that no porters rushed over to get our unloaded bags. We pushed them to the conveyor belt outside the Carnival terminal building where men put them on the belt and then we headed inside the clean, modern building where we had our hand luggage scanned and took an elevator to the VIP Check in on the second floor.
On to the ship!
There is a prelude to this cruise. Over seventy people on cruisecritic got to know each other well over the past year and a half. A number of them set up private tours for Rome, Florence, Taormina, Aix-en-Provence, and other places. Some arranged group dinners on and off the ship. And some performed "random acts of kindness" for members of the group.
Half of us stayed in the same hotel and a number of us arranged “do it yourself” tours at several ports. I even got to meet Debbie, Snowball on cruisecritic, at Dave ‘n Buster’s about a month before the cruise. All of the time spent online at cruisecritic ahead of time helped to make this a great cruise.
After dropping off the car at Central Airpark, we went to PHL to get on flight 742 to Barcelona. Debbie and her husband, RJ, were already at the gate. We left at 6:25 PM our time and got to BCN at 8:45 AM, Barcelona time.
October 6, 2011 - Barcelona
We spotted RJ and Debbie in the line for customs clearance and, together, we went off to retrieve the luggage. I think our bags were the last ones on the carousel. As soon as we had them, the four of us jumped into a taxi and took the half hour trip to the Hotel Continental on La Rambla. The taxi to Hotel Continental cost 32.5 Euro.
The hotel was on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a very old five-story building. As soon as we got there, CC's, Kelly and Kelley, from Florida, came over to us and we talked for a short while.
The room rate included coffee, wine, beer, soda, juice and food and, since we needed to wait an hour until the room was ready, we left our luggage in a secured area, filled two small plates with eggs and potatoes and ate while we waited on a patio at the rear of the building. The food and cappuccinos were delicious and we were joined by CC's, Gary and Sandi, on the patio.
The man who helped us with our luggage came about 45 minutes later to tell us that our room was ready. He showed us to our room. To get to our room we went past the lobby to the elevator, up one floor, to the right, through a second automatic door, around a wall, up a hall, and turned right. Our room was on the left. Everything in it was pink – very pink. It was well equipped, clean, and the bed was comfortable.
We left the hotel and strolled down La Rambla to La Boqueria. We checked out the candy, produce, seafood, ham, and cheese stalls and wound up buying some candy and nuts.
After we left the market, we went into a sheet music shop and a church. We finished our afternoon sitting on a bench on La Rambla and people-watched. When we couldn’t get our eyes open any longer, we went back to our room and took a nap.
CC, Joyce, had made reservations at Taller de Tapas, a restaurant that she had visited in January, but thinking that we’d be too tired, we opted not to go. Instead, after our nap we went back to the hotel buffet and filled our plates with chicken and potatoes. We met CC, Libby, at the food station. She told us to join her and the others on the patio. Outside, we met her husband, Jack, and CC, Beverly, and her husband, Bill. It turned out that they are all political liberals. Frank was in heaven. Besides politics, we heard about Jack’s campaign to spread the word about the healing powers of Siaracha, a Chinese hot sauce that takes away aches and pains, and our personal experiences for a long time. During that time, we also met CC, Annette, and her friend, Joy. We all retired when we were thoroughly exhausted but completely satisfied.
October 7, 2011 - Embarkation
The next morning, we awoke, dressed, and, after getting lost in the maze on the second floor of the Hotel Continental, we found our way to the lobby where we paid for the room, had, you guessed it, some more delicious potatoes, and left to meet up with CC, Theresa, and her husband, Mark, who had ordered the bus that was to take us to the ship. Although the hotel elevator got us from the second floor to the lobby, it wouldn’t take us to the street level. Frank had to carry his 40 lb. bag down two flights. At my suitcase.
After paying Mark for our bus rides, we pushed our bags around the corner to the Hard Rock Café and waited for the big, silver bus across from Placa Catalunya.
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On to the ship!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
What To Do on Mallorca
1) Take the train to Soller!
I found this terrific HD video capturing the producer's ride on the train to Soller. http://vimeo.com/groups/8053/videos/11386517
A little history for you . . . Ever since 1912 the Sóller railway has been running a daily train service along the 27.3 km route between Palma de Mallorca and Sóller, without interruption.
2) Check out the town.
See the railway station in Soller (garden and rooms dedicated to artists Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso) and the Can Prunera Modernist Museum.
Go to Can Prunera, a beautiful Modernist-style home converted into a museum following a careful restoration. The building, which was first completed in 1911 is a fine example of the conceptual unity of modernism because apart from the architecture, the interior design and furniture all belong to this period. Modernist decoration can be seen in the spiral staircase, the lamps, the glass partitioning, the woodwork, and on the ceilings and floors.
The new art museum at Can Prunera was opened on 24th August, 2009 and its contents feature works by some of the great masters of the 20th century: Picasso, Joan Miró, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Giacometti, Cézanne, Barceló, Juli Ramis and Matisse, amongst others.
Other good examples of modernist architecture arethe Bank of Soller and the San Bartolomé parish church.
3) Take the tram to the Port.
From 1913 the railway has also run the tram service along the 4.9 kilometres from Sóller and the Port of Sóller.
Visit the Sculpture Park. Its exhibits include fine works by contemporary Majorcan artists and by island residents. Stroll along the marina or go to the beach.
I found this terrific HD video capturing the producer's ride on the train to Soller. http://vimeo.com/groups/8053/videos/11386517
A little history for you . . . Ever since 1912 the Sóller railway has been running a daily train service along the 27.3 km route between Palma de Mallorca and Sóller, without interruption.
2) Check out the town.
See the railway station in Soller (garden and rooms dedicated to artists Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso) and the Can Prunera Modernist Museum.
Go to Can Prunera, a beautiful Modernist-style home converted into a museum following a careful restoration. The building, which was first completed in 1911 is a fine example of the conceptual unity of modernism because apart from the architecture, the interior design and furniture all belong to this period. Modernist decoration can be seen in the spiral staircase, the lamps, the glass partitioning, the woodwork, and on the ceilings and floors.
The new art museum at Can Prunera was opened on 24th August, 2009 and its contents feature works by some of the great masters of the 20th century: Picasso, Joan Miró, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Giacometti, Cézanne, Barceló, Juli Ramis and Matisse, amongst others.
Other good examples of modernist architecture arethe Bank of Soller and the San Bartolomé parish church.
3) Take the tram to the Port.
From 1913 the railway has also run the tram service along the 4.9 kilometres from Sóller and the Port of Sóller.
Visit the Sculpture Park. Its exhibits include fine works by contemporary Majorcan artists and by island residents. Stroll along the marina or go to the beach.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Breaking News - Updated Menus - Not!
Yesterday, John said that today , he'd be posting the new menus that are being used on the Magic. I went to his blog and checked out the new menus. They took quite awhile to load. I guess everyone was trying to see them at the same time.
There are a few changes from the menus on my April cruise - mainly, the "Comfort Food" selections.
Then I checked the menus on John's blog to the ones on Zydecocruiser's blog. They're the same so I posted a link to Zydeco's web page.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Mercat de la Boqueria - Can't Wait!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Naples to Capri and Capri to Sorrento and Back
We'll be in Naples from 7 AM to 7 PM on Tuesday, October 11th
Napoli - Capri Timetable Type Company Port Price
07:10 Aliscafo-Jet/Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00 from Mon. to Sat.
07:35 Ferry Caremar Calata Porta di Massa € 11.00
08:10 Hydrofoil Neapolis Molo Beverello € 17.00
08:35 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
09:10 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
09:30 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
10:00 Hydrofoil Neapolis Molo Beverello € 17.00
10:35 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
11:10 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
11:55 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
12:15 Fast ferry Caremar Calata Porta di Massa € 16.00
12:40 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
12:55 Ferry Caremar Calata Porta di Massa € 11.00
13:15 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
14:00 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
14:40 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
15:35 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
16:05 Hydrofoil Neapolis Molo Beverello € 17.00
16:40 Hydrofoil Gescab - N.L.G. Molo Beverello € 17.00
17:00 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
17:10 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
18:10 Hydrofoil Gescab - Snav Molo Beverello € 17.00
18:40 Ferry Caremar Calata Porta di Massa € 11.00
20:05 Hydrofoil Neapolis Molo Beverello € 17.00
Naples' Molo Beverello and Calata Porta di Massa are the principal embarkation points for boats heading to the Island of Capri. Hydrofoils depart from Molo Beverello (journey time circa 40 minutes). Cars and commercial vehicles are transported on ferries departing from Calata Porta Massa, as are foot passengers preferring to travel by fast ferry or ferry (journey time circa 50 and 80 minutes respectively).
The times of boat crossings to Capri and the other islands in the Bay of Naples are subject to variation and passengers are advised to check departure times, before heading to the ports, by contacting the navigational companies, their hotel, or Capri's Tourist Information Office (Azienda Autonoma di Cura Soggiorno e Turismo dell'isola di Capri).
How long does the journey Naples – Capri take?
Ferry: 80 minutes
Fast ferry: 50 minutes
Hydrofoil: 40 minutes
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Time to Feature Rome
The lighting of the Colisseum almost makes it look like someone could be living there.
I'd like to focus on Rome this month. I'll post the best pictures that I can find of any landmark, edifice, or fountain that you desire. Let me know what I should feature in a cruisecritic post or by emailing me. Thanks.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Google Palma de Mallorca pictures and you'll find some beauties. Look for enticing stories about Palma and you won't find much. Here are some paragraphs from Wikipedia.
Main sights
"Palma City Sightseeing" Plaça d'Espanya
The Plaça d'Espanya is the transport hub of Palma. The Estació Intermodal caters for buses and trains (the latter controlled by TIB). The two old buildings home to the tourist information and several cafés sit either side of the two large escalators which lead into the Estació, which interestingly enough sits underneath a large and popular park. On the lawns are several glass boxes, which let in light and ventialtion to the station below ground. There are also train-themed playing structures, each one shaped like a train carriage and named after towns along the line of the Ferrocarril de Sóller, a railway dating back to 1911 which has its Palma Station right next to the park. Just down the street from here a new bus station is under construction.
The Cathedral Area
Palma is famous for La Seu, its vast cathedral originally built on a previous mosque. Although construction began in 1229 it didn't finish until 1601 and local architect Antoni Gaudí was drafted in during a restoration project in 1901. The Parc de la Mar (Park of the Sea) lies just south overlooked by the great building which sits higher than it on the city's stone foundations. Between these two are the town walls. There is a vast canopé of blue and yellow diamonds strung over a low area here, and shaded by this rows of outdoor wooden pews.
The Old City
The Old City (in the south-east area of Palma behind the Cathedral) is a fascinating maze of streets clearly hinting towards an Arab past. With the exception of a few streets and squares which allow traffic and are more populated with tourists most of the time, the walkways of this city quarter are fairly narrow, quiet streets, surrounded by a diverse range of interesting buildings, the architecture of which can easily be compared with those in streets of cities such as Florence (Italy), for example. The majority are private houses, some of which are open to the public as discreet museums or galleries. The tall structures, characteristic window boxes, detailed metal carvings and overhanging eaves of these buildings make a stark contrast with the view of the bay that is obtained by stepping out of the shady alleyways next to the cathedral and onto the old city walls. The Old City is also home to the Ajuntament (or Town Hall), the Convent of the Cathedral and the Banys Àrabs.
Colom street.
View of the ancient mills of El Jonquet.The Banys Àrabs, or Arab Baths, one of the few remnants of Palma's Moorish past, are accessed via the quiet Ca'n Serra street near the Convent of the Cathedral, and include the lush gardens of Ca'n Fontirroig, home to Sardinian warblers, house sparrows, cacti, palm trees, and a wide range of flowers and ferns. The small two-roomed brick building that once housed the bath is in fact of Byzantine, dating back to the 11th century and possibly once part of the home of a Muslim nobleman. The bath room has a cupola with five oculi which let in dazzling light. The twelve columns holding up the small room were pillaged from an earlier Roman construction. The floor over the hypocaust has been worn away by people standing in the centre, mainly to photograph the entrance and the garden beyond it. The whole room is in a rather disreputable condition. The other room is a brick cube with a small model of the baths as they once were in the corner. Unfortunately one of the columns in this model has fallen over.
Garbage Collectors
Harbour of Palma with the Castle of Bellver at deep.Rather more modern additions to the old parts of the city are the attractive and subtle bronze garbage collecting bins. They operate under the simple method of putting one's refuse into the cylinder at the top of the machine and turning a handle which then revolves the cylinder, tipping it into the lower area of the bin.
[edit] Sports
Football is the most important sport on the island, led by the Primera División football league team Real Mallorca with its stadium placed at Palma.
Because of its island condition all the sea sports have also a big presence in Palma. Maybe the most important event is the Trofeo Ciutat de Palma.
Palma was the host of the tennis event Battle of Surfaces.
Playa de Palma in El Arenal.[edit] Geography
Palma is the major city and seaport geographically located in the south-west of Majorca. The city lies on the larger coastal Bay of Palma in the western Mediterranean Sea. The land area of the city is about 21.355 km² with an altitude of 13 metres.
Palma is bordered by rocky inlets and marinas on the south side, whilst many of the tourist resorts are positioned towards the east side of the city. The central zone that extends from Palma is generally a flat fertile plain known as Es Pla. There are two uninhabited islands, which is located southeast of Palma and Dragonera which is west of Palma.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Do you know the song, "Come Back To Sorrento"? I've been humming it to myself all day today while I read about tours being offered to Sorrento, Capri, and the Amalfi coast.
I took this picture on a sunny Sunday last October. We were riding in Francesco Marrapese's Mercedes van, through the olive groves from Positano to Sorrento. What a beautiful place. The town is closed to motor vehicle traffic on Sunday so we had the wide boulevard of the new section of town as well as the narrow back streets of the old town.
When I return to Sorrento on October 11, 2011, I will definitely buy a music box that plays "Come Back To Sorrento" and listen to it over and over when I get home.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Map of the Terminal Area
Rather than post the Cruisecritic group and the Hotel Continental group again, I last two posts to add Smoothsailor's name to the CC Group and Joyce's name to the Hotel Continental group.
The above picture shows the Port of Barcelona. You'll notice the little blue bus symbols. You can walk to the ship or from the ship to the city but it's advised that you take one of the buses because a good part of the walk is along a busy highway bridge. You can buy bus tickets in the terminal building for 5 or 6 euros or you can exit the building and purchase the tickets on the bus for less money.
Look for Passeig de Colon. That's where the bus picks you up or drops you off. Notice that La Rambla starts right there and continues up to Placa de Cataluna, right past the Hotel Continental.
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